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My Pantone Nightmare

31.10.18Written by Julia

That’s right — Pantone. Not panettone, though this is often in my dreams.

Three months into working at Cafeteria I was getting stuck into an array of projects and enjoying the challenges that came with being the Junior Designer in the room. One particular task, however, just left my head spinning — Pantone colour matching.

OK, let’s be clear, I know the exact purpose of Pantone and appreciate it’s practicality as much as the next designer, but the difference in colour between my screen and the physical manifestation just kept tripping me up. While Tom could pinpoint a swatch in less than 30 seconds, I would hopelessly search through the swatch book for what felt like hours trying to find the correct code. I was lost, floating in a world of colour…and then, that night, it happened — I entered the Pantone Volt.

I was lured in by a million shades of colour, all displayed just for me — a psychedelic orb of shifting colour spectrums. There were endless rows of swatch books with the most minuscule difference in shade. Could I exit? Not until I found a very specific shade of blue which would, of course, be my key to freedom.

In hindsight the dream was more of a nightmare and a bit like Crystal Maze meets Hendrix, which obviously left me anxious. I left my flat for the studio feeling wigged out, only to be met by both Chris and Reuben who greeted me with a synchronised head turn – “Morning!” What now, The Shining?! Welcome to my world.